1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc player with an automatic disc changer for playing back a plurality of stored discs interchangeably.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some disc players for reproducing recorded information signals from optical discs such as digital audio discs are combined with an automatic disc changer. The automatic disc changer includes a detachable disc cartridge housing a vertical stack of disc trays with respective discs placed thereon. A selected disc is fed from the disc cartridge to a disc playback unit of the disc player. Known disc players with automatic disc changers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,474 and Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 62-14372, for example.
The automatic disc changer shown in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 62-14372 includes a cartridge housing unit for housing the disc cartridge. Between the cartridge housing unit and the disc playback unit, there is disposed a linearly movable tray withdrawing mechanism for withdrawing a desired one of the disc trays with a disc carried thereon out of the disc cartridge toward the disc playback unit. When the disc tray is positioned out of the disc cartridge, the disc placed on the disc tray is lifted into the disc playback unit. Then, the information signal recorded on the disc is read or reproduced by a signal reading device in the disc playback unit.
The disc cartridge has a casing having surrounding walls with an opening defined in the front wall. The disc trays are stacked in the casing. When one of the stored discs is to be played back, the disc tray carrying the disc is pulled fully out of the casing, and then the disc is chucked and inserted into the disc playback unit.
The number of discs that can be stored in the disc cartridge is limited by the size of the disc cartridge. If the user wishes to play back optical discs other than those stored in the disc cartridge, then the user must replace the loaded disc cartridge with another disc cartridge containing those discs desired to be played back. Frequent replacement of disc cartridges makes the disc player inconvenient to use.
Sometimes, the user attempts to eject the loaded disc cartridge out of the cartridge housing unit for replacement with another disc cartridge while a disc tray from the loaded disc cartridge is being withdrawn toward the disc playback unit. Such an attempt may tend to damage the disc, the disc tray, the disc cartridge, and also the disc playback unit.
Disc players with automatic disc changers find wide use on automobiles or the like. For use on automobiles, however, the internal mechanism of the disc player, including the cartridge housing unit and the disc playback unit, needs to be floatingly supported in the overall housing of the disc player for protection against automobile vibrations which would otherwise adversely affect the playback operation of the disc player. However, since the floating internal mechanism is movable in the disc player housing, the disc cartridge may not stably and reliably be loaded into and unloaded out of the cartridge housing unit.
For playback of a disc, the disc playback unit of certain disc players with automatic disc changers moves toward the disc cartridge, and the disc is withdrawn out of the disc cartridge and fed toward the disc playback unit. Since, therefore, the disc player has many motors for moving and feeding such player components and discs, the disc player is relatively complex and heavy.
Another problem of the conventional disc players with automatic disc changers is that a large space is required in which the tray withdrawing mechanism operates to withdraw a desired disc tray fully out of the disc cartridge for playback. As a consequence, the disc player is relatively large in the direction in which the disc trays are withdrawn from the disc cartridge, e.g., the disc player has a relatively large depth, with a resultant large disc player size.